Breaking The Silence
by BraverLeonheart
Summary: Nothing breaks the ice like saving someone's life. A/N: Some speech in opening paragraphs taken from Chamber of Secrets film.
1. Breaking The Silence

**Breaking The Silence**

Ginny woke slowly, her body numb from the cold stone floor beneath her. Her eyes felt heavy as she forced them open, only to see that it made nearly no difference. The room she was in was pitch black, and the ceiling that must have been above her was obscured from her vision. She let out a small moan as she felt a dull ache run through her small frame. A shuffle of feet told her that someone was near, and she felt their weight fall next to her. Raising herself into a sitting position, she gazed into the eyes of the boy she'd idolised for the past two years. Slowly, her eyes dropped to look at the rest of him. His robes were in tatters and covered in dirt and what looked like blood. He held his right arm with his hand, and she could see the slow trickle of fresh crimson running through his fingertips. Her eyes snapped back up to his.

"Harry, it was me. But I swear I didn't mean to – Riddle made me!"

Her voice cracked at the thought of the young, handsome man she'd been using as a confidant all year long. She fought against her stomach, which was threatening to hurl its contents out of her mouth at the thought of what she'd allowed him to do. It was with a desperate, quiet voice that she continued; needing to explain what had happened to her.

"He wrote to me, took me over… I didn't even know whose diary it was, I found it inside my cauldron the day we all went to Diagon Alley and…"

She paused, looking into his eyes. Hidden within the emerald orbs was understanding, the way only Harry could look at someone who had nearly killed his best friend. She saw him visibly wince in pain, and his fingers tighten around his arm.

"Harry, you're hurt."

Guilt wracked her voice. She'd caused that. Not only had she nearly killed his best friend, she'd got him hurt. She watched as he lurched forward slightly, swaying on his knees, fighting to stay upright. Pain etched across his face, and he gave another lurch, this time slipping and falling forward, having to use his hurt arm to steady himself on the cold floor. When he opened his mouth to speak, it was hoarse and forced.

"Ginny, you need to get yourself out. Follow the chamber… You'll find Ron."

Before Ginny had the chance to ask why he wasn't coming with her, there was a rush of wings past her left ear, and the most beautiful bird she'd ever seen landed softly next to Harry. His large, brown eyes looked deep into the boy's green ones, and Ginny felt a huge sense of familiarity in the look the bird wore, like a mother looks when fussing over her sick child. Only this look was full of sorrow, and suddenly she realised why Harry wasn't coming back with her. She let out a sob that would have turned into a scream if she hadn't been interrupted by Harry's slowly fading voice.

"You were brilliant Fawkes, I just wasn't quick enough."

The bird let out a slow, crooning note that sent a shiver down Ginny's spine. The note was full of mourning and sadness, but it warmed Ginny's heart. A tear trickled down the bird's face, and it was guided skilfully on to the wound on Harry's arm. With a soft hiss, the skin mended itself, and she saw the pain leave Harry's face instantly.

"Of course, Dumbledore told me, Phoenix tears have healing powers," Harry said in wonder, holding out his perfectly mended arm and inspecting it. He stroked the bird's head, and it sang the soft crooning note once more, yet this seemed to fill the large room with joy and happiness.

Relief flooded through Ginny's body as she saw Harry smile. When he turned his grin on her, she couldn't help herself. She lunged forward into his arms and buried her head into his shoulder, tears streaming down her face. She felt his body tense against her and wondered if he'd pull away, but he didn't. Instead he gently wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair with his hand slowly.

They stayed wrapped in each other for a few minutes, in complete silence. There was no awkwardness, no need for any words at all. After not being able to talk in his presense for nearly a year, Ginny found she didn't even need to talk.

She pulled away from him reluctantly, looking into his eyes. Losing all of her shyness for just a moment, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly, feeling it needed to be said.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her quizzically. "For what?"

Only Harry could find it in himself to forgive her so easily, Ginny told herself. She cast around for the right word to say to sum up what she needed to apologise for. In the end, she settled for the easiest one: "Everything."

He chuckled to himself, which caused Ginny to raise her eyebrow this time.

"Ginny, you don't need to apologise."

"I do" she said quickly, before burying her head back into his shoulder again. She spoke softly, needing him to understand.

"I could have killed so many people this year. I should have realised Tom wasn't what he said he was. He was so understanding though, having to listen to all my crap about being poor and me spewing like a little girl over you." Realising what she had revealed, her ears turned bright, Weasley red and she swore under her breath. To his credit, Harry made no sign that he'd heard her, except she knew he was grinning madly. "Then I petrify your best friend, then go and get myself dragged down here to draw you in and you could have died Harry! You nearly died and what for? Me, stupid Ginny Weasley. Stupid, ugly, short, immature, gullible, weak, pathetic me!" She screamed the last sentence, causing Harry to flinch, before descending back into tears.

Harry didn't say anything for a moment, causing Ginny to wonder if he was thinking the exact thing she'd said, but didn't want to say. As she began to extract herself from him, feeling worse than before, his arms wrapped around her into a tight embrace and he whispered softly into her ear.

"I'd do it again"

Ginny's sobs stopped abruptly at his words. She couldn't understand. Wasn't he going to hate her for bringing him down into this stinking pit below a foul lake? Wasn't he going to shout and scream at her for him having that giant gash in his arm moments before? Wasn't he mad at all?

"Why?"

Harry contemplated his answer for a while, and they sat in silence while he tried to figure out what he was going to say.

"Did you really think I'd let you die?"

Ginny started at the question. No, Harry would never let anyone die if he could help it. It was one of the most special things about him. She thought even Draco Malfoy, the boy who made Harry's life hell on a day to day basis, would be saved by Harry if it required it. Slowly, she shook her head.

Harry slowly began stroking her hair again as he spoke, "When I heard you had been brought down here, it hit me hard. This wasn't some random person in the school who I didn't know, like a Hufflepuff third year or something. This was a girl who I'd lived with for a month earlier this year, a girl who I knew. I'd have never been able to live if I'd stood by and let something happen to you."

Silence overtook them once again, comfortable and easy, not like Ginny had always imagined it to be. She imagined speaking to Harry would be a chore, laborious and difficult, and that they would sit in awkward silence for minutes before declaring they had something to do. But the silences weren't awkward, they were nice and peaceful. Harry broke it with a soft voice.

"I had all the answers, and I had the reason to do it. I'd do it again and again for you."

Ginny felt a tear run down her cheek. She thought of telling him thank you, but it probably would have gone unnoticed or been brushed aside. Instead, she settled on brightening the mood. Picking at his tattered robes, she smiled and said "I got your robes dirty."

Harry laughed; a hearty, full laugh that echoed around the chamber. Ginny found herself laughing too. So hard in fact, that she had to extricate herself from Harry's arms and bend double just to help her breathe. She felt all the numbness that had been taking over her body since she'd awoken ebb away. When they finally stopped laughing, Harry turned his brilliant smile on her.

"They're only going to get dirtier; it's a rough journey back out of here."

She nodded, looking at the floor in embarrassment. What would the people say to her when she got out of the chamber? They'd be disappointed, especially Dad. Mum would scold her for her stupidity, and her brothers would probably want nothing to do with her for weeks.

Harry seemed to read her thoughts, as he placed his hands on her shoulders and said in a calm voice "Everything will be fine Gin, trust me"

She felt the corners of her mouth turn up at the shortened name. Normally, people using that name would be rolling on the floor with giant winged bogey's flying around their face, but she liked it in Harry's voice. It was soothing.

Harry stood, and extended a hand out to her, which she gladly took. Hauling herself up, she shook her head to get her hair out of her eyes. Harry chuckled next to her.

"What!?" she asked indignantly.

"Hair's a mess," he pointed out, chuckling again.

Ginny smiled and whacked him on the arm. "Thanks Mr. Observant."

Harry winked and held out his hand. She tentatively reached out and grabbed it, interlacing their fingers together. Now her shyness came back full force, and her ears turned red once again. Harry laughed, bending to pick up a sword and the sorting hat, which Ginny had overlooked.

Together the two walked out in silence. Not an awkward silence, but a comfortable one, hands locked between them fitting perfectly together like they had practised walking down a street hand in hand for years.


	2. Recovering

**Recovering**

The weather since the chamber had been a perfect way to end the term after the turbulence of the rest of the year. All of the students had been revived successfully, to the relief of staff, children, and Hogwarts' reputation. Exams had been cancelled, to the relief of the entire student body (except Hermione), and Ginny was happy again, to the relief of anyone who knew her.

In fact, happy wasn't the right word to describe Ginny's feelings. Lighter would probably describe it better. The ordeal that she had been through during the year would haunt her memories for a long time, but the simple things like catching up on a year's worth of lost sleep, having people around her who made her smile, and not having a Dark Lord possessing her at random intervals did wonders for her demeanour. Perhaps she wasn't entirely happy, but she was certainly alleviated of many problems she'd had, which was enough to make her put up with the nightmares.

The nightmares were bad. During her sleep she had relived the worst moments time and time again, often coupled with many things that never happened, and never would. The worst was always the last moments she could remember, watching the boy she'd been writing to all year pulling himself from the pages that she'd spent so long staring at, and laughing; a cold, sinister laugh that didn't suit his handsome features. She remembered him coming closer to her, looking at her almost lovingly, but with a certain hunger that made her sick, and his hand slowly moving up to her face, and touching the skin gently as she fell into unconsciousness…

Ginny jerked awake with a gasp, and instantly had to squint against the sunlight overhead. She could feel the grass beneath her, brushing against her bare arms, and her Hogwarts robe bundled underneath her head as a pillow. Panting slightly, she started to raise her arm to keep the sun out of her eyes, but was saved the trouble when it was blocked by someone sitting next to her, who had a concerned look on his face.

"You alright?" Harry asked in a soft voice, as he shuffled so he was more comfortable as he looked down at her. Ginny considered nodding and claiming she was fine, but spending the past two weeks with him as she had, she knew he wouldn't take that for an answer. He hadn't every other time she'd tried it anyway. So, instead, she shook her head and allowed herself to show a little weakness for once.

Ginny watched as Harry's face hardened a little, before he looked around, presumably for the others, who they had joined down at the lake to relax together before they took the train home for the summer. Sitting up, Ginny saw what he must have been looking for, the rest of the group down at the lake, playing with the giant squid. When she turned back to Harry she found him staring intently at her already, a worried look on his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, still in the soft voice. It was something he'd asked so many times over the past few days, and she'd always replied that she didn't need to, whilst casually eyeing the rest of the group. Harry must have noticed these subtle glances.

Instead of answering, Ginny moved so that she could bury into his chest, and allowed herself to cry softly. She felt Harry's arms wrap tightly around her, and revelled in his embrace, feeling warm and safe, similar to the protected feeling of her mother's arms wrapping around her when she was sick. He began to stroke her hair gently, like he had in the chamber when he'd calmed her down so well. Slowly, the tears began to dry up, and she found her voice.

"I was just thinking about the chamber," she started slowly. Harry didn't make a sound; he just continued to pay his soft attention to her hair, so she carried on, "and what Tom did to me"

Admitting that Tom had done something caused the memories to flood back, and she broke into a fresh wave of tears, but not before she felt Harry's breath hitch at the revelation. She felt a new wave of attraction to him at his obvious reaction. Again, he said nothing, and let her crying subside a little before she carried on.

"I see him, coming out of the diary, hear him laughing at me. It's so real."

For the first time since she started, Harry spoke, "I know Gin, I know"

Ginny had to smile again, like she had down in the chamber when he'd used the shortened name to comfort her. She liked it from him, like it had some personal touch to it. Nobody else was allowed; it was Harry's name for her. She knew that he thought this too, because he used it only occasionally, so that each one was special.

Soon, the smile faded from her lips when she thought of the next part of the dreams. It took a few minutes to brace herself to say it, but finally she built up the courage.

"I feel him – touch me."

Harry's reaction was instant. His body tensed completely and his breath stopped half way. Again, the reaction brought fresh waves of fondness for him to Ginny, and she snuggled closer into him. She felt him slowly release the breath he held, as though clearing his head, but she knew he felt as sick as she did.

They sat in silence for several minutes as he resumed stroking her hair. A few times Ginny felt his breath hitch as though he was going to speak, but the words died before they reached his mouth. She already knew the question he was going to ask.

"Did he –?"

Ginny shook her head and muttered "I don't know," before succumbing once more to the wave of emotion through her. Harry's body began to shake slightly, and his hand struggled to stay steady as he pulled her closer to him and cradled her head tightly.

"He touched my face, stroked my cheek, and then – I don't know. I passed out then"

Harry's grip tightened around her once more, and she felt his lips press against the top of her head softly. She closed her eyes tight, and revelled in the feeling of it. A month ago, she'd have thought that Harry kissing her head would be something that only ever happened in her dreams, where the two of them were snuggled together in bed, enjoying each other company in their own world. But he'd been doing it so often recently, and each one sent shivers down her spine.

He'd been perfect to her. Giving her space, letting her come to him when she needed him, paying attention to her, even noticing some things about her that some of her brothers didn't see, like how she bit her tongue when doing homework, or stared into space with her fingers entwined in her own hair when she was thinking about something. He'd commented on her looks, been attentive about the clothes she'd worn, even told her she looked cute.

It was these reasons that made Ginny feel she could open up to him a little bit more every day. Maybe that was his plan, but it didn't matter, because for the first time in years, Ginny felt special.

"Is there any way to… check?" Harry's voice brought her back to the conversation. She smiled at his concern.

"Yeah, I'm sure Pomfrey could," Ginny said, hesitating for a second, before finishing, "but I'm scared."

Harry nodded gently, urging her on, "I always wanted – it – to be with the man I loved. And someone who loved me back. It's supposed to be special, isn't it?" She felt Harry nod again, "but I might have had it taken away from me when I'm just eleven years old. I wanted everything to be perfect."

Slowly, Harry went back to stroking her hair, easing away the worries in a few gentle touches. Again he pressed his lips to the top of her head, before he said "but if you don't check, you might never know. You might still be able to have that special moment with the man you love."

Ginny smiled, but shook her head softly, "and what if it turns out I can't? My first kiss might have been Tom, my first everything might have been Tom. I don't think I could take that"

She felt his arms move from their positions around her body and slowly pull her away so she was looking directly at him, and touched his hand to her cheek. His touch was so different from Tom's. It seemed to burn, but in a way that made her feel so alive. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, allowing herself a moment where she could believe that there was more than friendship between them.

"You know you can always talk to me about things, Gin," Harry said softly, causing Ginny to smile to herself as she considered what to say.

"And here's me thinking you weren't comfortable with crying girls," she said, opening her eyes and chuckling at the embarrassed look on Harry's face. She heard him mumble something about 'only trying to help' and burst out laughing.

"Harry, you're so adorable," she said between the laughter. "You don't have to make yourself uncomfortable for me, I understand."

She watched as a blush slowly crept up Harry's face, and couldn't help but laugh again, burying herself once more into his chest and taking a deep breath, making herself at home. They stayed liked that for a few minutes, in comfortable silence, before Harry spoke again.

"I want to," he muttered simply. Ginny's eyes snapped open, hardly daring to believe what he'd said.

"What?" she asked, moving again so that she could look back at his face. She found him staring across towards their friends, but his eyes were glazed, as though he couldn't see them at all. She gave the others a quick glance, making sure that there was nothing amiss, and saw one of the twins get splashed by a torrent of water.

Ginny returned her eyes to Harry, who hadn't shifted his gaze. He looked contemplative, as though trying to put something he didn't fully understand into words. She stayed silent, giving him the time he needed to sort his thoughts out. Finally, he took a slow breath, and said, "I want to make myself uncomfortable for you."

She frowned at the confusing statement, and the expression seemed to break him out of his trance. He looked down at her and smiled, before simply saying, "I want to help."

Shaking her head, she snaked an arm around him and brought him into a brief hug, which he returned tentatively. As she did so, she said, "But you don't have to make yourself uncomfortable. There's no need for you to feel bad –"

"I don't care about myself; I just want to try to help you get through things. I know you're still not Ok, and I know you've been through more than I could possibly understand, but I want to try."

His eyes met hers with an intense stare, and he slowly reached up and touched her cheek with his hand, before saying, "besides, you're worth it."

Ginny's heart skipped a beat in that instant. It was amazing what three simple words could do to change everything. It was no profession of love, nor was it a promise of a future, but it felt like something much more. Over the past year she'd almost convinced herself that she would never hear anything that was heartfelt and sincere, and yet there it was, coming out of Harry's mouth of his own accord, and sounding like the easiest thing in the world.

Perhaps the mind of an eleven year old girl runs away with her sometimes, but she couldn't help but think of a future, right there and then, between her and Harry. The idea had run through her head so many times before, but never with such solidity as this. It almost felt real in her mind, as though she could reach out and touch it.

Blinking away her thoughts, she noticed Harry was still staring down at her, a small Grin playing over his lips.

"Get lost in there?" he asked cheekily, and she swotted him playfully, before wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, pouring all her feelings into that one embrace. No words were needed, and she knew that he understood her emotions completely at that moment. She wasn't sure if he'd done it on purpose or whether he truly meant it, but for the moment, she allowed herself a glimmer of hope.


	3. Decision

**Decision**

The final few days until the end of term passed quickly, and before anybody knew what was happening, it was time to start packing their trunks ready for the long journey back to London and the world outside Hogwarts. Most of the Gryffindor dormitories were alive, with all of the occupants frantically searching for the one solitary book or article of clothing that always seemed to disappear when it came to the last day. The common room was nearly deserted, except for Harry Potter, who sat calmly reading _'Quidditch Through the Ages' _on one of the comfy chairs near the fireplace. The silence was only broken by the turning of pages and the occasional swear word that floated down the stairs, that would have made Hermione tut in disgust, except everyone knew that at least one of the dirty words had the distinct sound of 'panicking bookworm' to it.

Ginny Weasley finally found the last pair of trousers that had eluded the rest of her packing under her bed, and emerged with a triumphant cry, which caused the other girls in her room to look at her with strange looks. They'd been incredibly shocked over the course of the last few weeks to discover that the small redhead actually did have a personality beyond that of 'tired, grumpy teenage girl', and was actually quite loud and excitable. The entire school knew about the Chamber incident, but other than her close family and friends, her roommates were probably the only ones who noticed much difference at all. Ginny suspected that they didn't like the change all that much, but she didn't care.

Throwing her second hand jeans into her trunk haphazardly, she kicked the lid closed and locked it, before casting a final glance around her sleeping area and bounding out of the room.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she saw Harry reading, and looking like he was concentrating hard on the book in front of him. She had to giggle at his resemblance to her brothers, who had all read the book hundreds of times between them (Ron probably hundreds of times on his own), but still insisted that they read it, just because Quidditch is such a big thing. She knew that Harry himself was probably into double figures when it came to _'Quidditch Through the Ages'_, and yet he still concentrated like it was his first ever time. She also knew that Harry would flatly deny any idea that he was taking on Ron's characteristics more and more with each passing day.

Quickly looking around the common room, she saw nobody else around, so she decided to have a little bit of fun. Slowly, she crept up behind the seat Harry was sat in. He didn't flinch, or show any sign that he'd heard another person in the room, so she kept moving silently until she was stood right behind him. An evil grin on her face, she leapt forward and shook his shoulders from behind, causing him to jump a mile into the air with shock.

She couldn't help but laugh at the startled sound that Harry made and the fact that his book had gone flying across the room when he'd stood up. She doubled over, quickly getting breathless with the effort of laughing so hard, like she hadn't in a year. It was such a simple prank, but sometimes, the simple ones had the best results, and the indignant sound to Harry's voice as he shouted "Ginny, you scared me to death!" was perfect in her eyes. So perfect that she couldn't stop laughing, even if she tried.

"Oh, think you're funny do you?" she heard Harry say, before she felt herself tumble onto one of the sofas, and Harry's weight on top of her as he tried for some sort of revenge. Ginny was laughing too much to resist, and she quickly found herself trapped, with her hands pinned above her head by one of Harry's and Harry himself sat, straddling her legs, restricting all movement. When she finally clicked what a bad predicament she was in, it was too late, Harry's other hand started to tickle under her arms until she was crying with mirth.

"Harry, Harry – stop – please!" She cried out, in between bouts of roaring laughter. She tried to squirm away from him, but he was too strong and too heavy for her without her having some prior advantage.

"Do you surrender?" Harry said, moving his hand down to start tickling at her waist. She howled with laughter again, nodding frantically to get him to stop. "And you agree that Harry Potter is the greatest in the entire universe, and you won't ever do something like that again?"

"Alright – alright, just stop, I agree!" Ginny screamed, still trying to pull her wrists out of his grasp. Mercifully, Harry stopped tickling her then, but still held her hands and didn't shift his weight, to stop any retribution coming his way. Ginny's laughter still continued, and took a long time to die off, and it wasn't until then that Harry moved off her and let her free. He stood, looking down at her as she got her breath back. Finally, when she could breathe again, she sat up and Harry sat next to her.

"I swear, if you've messed my hair up, I'll –" She started, but couldn't come up with anything that would avenge such a travesty. Harry just smiled.

"You'll what, do something else that will only cause me to tickle you again?" He asked, and she swotted him playfully.

The past few days had been spent just like this. The two of them had had a laugh with each other, messed around by the lake with their friends, and talked about various things that didn't involve the Chamber. All the time, Harry was still paying close attention to her, and the things that she was saying. She'd seen the looks on her brother's faces whenever he'd complimented her looks or touched her friendlily. It made her heart swell that he didn't seem to care. She chose to ignore the fact that it might be he hadn't noticed the looks he'd been getting.

"You all finished packing then?" Harry asked her, as he lounged against the arm of the sofa so he could look at her.

Ginny swivelled herself on the seat and she too was leaning against the arm, but with her back to it. She brought her legs up to rest on top of Harry's, and he lazy covered them with his arm. "Yeah, just, how come you haven't been rushing around like a loon trying to get everything sorted?"

"Because I don't live like a slob, Miss Weasley," Harry replied instantly, earning himself a small kick in the ribs. "I started sorting mine a few weeks ago, learned from my mistakes of last year."

Ginny nodded, much more satisfied with this answer than the first. Then her face broke out into a wide smile as she asked, "Have you heard Hermione?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh, which became contagious as Ginny started to chuckle too. Harry calmed down enough to say "She's like this every year. She might be the most intelligent of the six of us, but I'd wager she lives in as much of a mess as Ron."

After another small kick to the ribs and an admonishment to 'play nice', the two fell into a comfortable silence. Harry began to absent-mindedly run his hand up and down Ginny's shin and ankle, staring into the fireplace, which caused Ginny to smile. Here was another example of how Harry was being the perfect gentleman to her. She started to think about all the other things he'd done, but each one inevitably led back to why he had changed, and she'd start thinking about the Chamber again. When she stopped thinking about it, she saw Harry looking at her with concern.

"You ok?" he asked, his face turning into a frown, and his hand stopping on her leg. Ginny just smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I just can't lose myself in thought too much; I start to think about the Chamber again"

Harry nodded, tensing slightly at the mention of the Chamber. He resumed his small movement along her leg, and it seemed to soothe him a little.

There was a small silence between them, while both of them seemed to compose themselves a little. Then Ginny spoke up, "I guess you'd know what that's like though."

Harry looked at her, slightly confused, and she continued, "I don't suppose you can help but think of the Dursleys, can you?"

He went back to staring at the fire, seemingly composing himself. He looked like he was trying to bite back his emotions, but Ginny could see traces of anger flash across his face. Eventually, he managed to get it under control, but his voice was still tense as he said "Ron told you about them?"

Ginny nodded, and Harry took a deep breath to calm himself. She couldn't help but defend her brother just a little for his mistake, "He only told me bits, nothing major. I asked about you all summer, and that was one of the things I asked." She flushed a brilliant, Weasley red, and Harry shot her a small smile, before going back to staring at the fire.

"They were horrible people, but I'm past that now," Harry said, not sounding too sure of himself. Ginny moved to sit next to him, resting on hand on his knee and looking at him concernedly.

Harry covered her hand with his before taking a small breath and saying, "I don't know how much Ron told you, but the easiest way to describe it is that most of my life has been spent growing up in the cupboard under the stairs"

Ginny's breath hitched, and she felt rage flowing through her. It wasn't just the injustice of Harry being locked in a cupboard, it was the calmness in his voice as he said it, as though it was normal for a kid to be treated like that. She felt Harry squeeze her hand gently and looked at his face. He wore a look of resignation, but reassuring that it was ok now. It helped to calm Ginny a little, but she was still angry at them.

"Sometimes, they would lock me in there for up to a week, and not let me out for anything, just posting little scraps of food, and two drinks a day."

Ginny couldn't believe what she was hearing. Just knowing that he'd been locked in a cupboard was bad enough, but practically starving him was another matter. Then another thought crossed her mind, "what about using the toilet?" She blushed slightly at the question, but Harry just remained stone-faced as he replied.

"Once a day," he said calmly. Ginny was shocked. How anyone could treat a child like that was beyond her. Even more difficult to understand was how Harry had turned out so brilliant, after all he'd been through. She voiced her question to him, and he just chuckled.

"Thanks, but I'm not brilliant," he said, with a little smile in her direction, before turning to look back at the fire again, collecting his thoughts.

"I guess that no matter what they did to me, it couldn't change who I am. I just know I don't want to end up like them. I hate them. They've been horrible to me, but that's no reason to change who I am and stop living my own life."

Ginny listened closely to what he said. She didn't know if he'd done it on purpose, but his explanation related to her situation perfectly. Something horrible had happened to her, but that shouldn't mean she should let it rule her life. Just when she was thinking whether Harry meant her to think that, he spoke up.

"I guess it's the same with you," he said, clarifying her thoughts, "We don't know what Tom did to you down there. He could have done something that nobody would wish on anyone. You could find out though, and if it comes out that nothing happened, then brilliant, you still get to do what you want, and there's no harm done."

He took a deep breath, thinking what he was about to say through. Slowly, he turned to face her and looked her dead in the eye.

"And if he – if it's not the answer you want, then at least you know. You'll – find out anyway, someday. So why not find out now and then work on getting over it? And you can still get what you want with the person you l - love, because what matters is it being… special, right?"

Ginny's eyes started to water as she took in what he was saying, as well as Harry's determination to continue with a topic he clearly wasn't comfortable with. She'd been trying her hardest not to think about what Tom might have done in the Chamber. She might be a young girl, but she knew enough about sex to know that it was entirely possible that she'd been robbed of her first time. Slowly, she moved from her position and snuggled up into Harry's chest, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks and on to his T-shirt. Harry's arms came up and wrapped around her tightly, and he kissed her head softly, like he'd been doing so often.

They stayed in that position for a few minutes in complete silence, letting Ginny's tears cry themselves out. When she'd got herself under control, she finally spoke, "I'm scared, Harry."

"I know, Gin," he replied softly, squeezing her a little. "I'm not saying you have to go, but I think you should. You can get on with your life then, good or bad."

She nodded against his chest, taking a deep breath and steeling herself. Raising her head and looking Harry in the eye, she said, "I'll do it."

Harry smiled comfortingly, giving her shoulder a little squeeze. "I'll come with you," he said, standing and holding his hand out to her. She took it and stood, a new determination in her posture. The two of them kept holding hands as they made their way out of the common room, their fingers interlacing instinctively.


	4. Results

**A/N: **I'm so sorry for the wait for this update, I know, I said I wouldn't make you wait long. This chapter eluded me for ages, nothing seemed right with it, but I've worked out some of the kinks. I know you'd prefer a long wait for a chapter that works, rather than a short wait for something that even I'm not happy with. Couple this with me and my Beta having lives, and I'm sure you can let me off.

Thanks to Ginny Guerra (From SIYE) for looking through this, and all other chapters. This chapter is a little bit different to the rest, for reasons I'll disclose if I'm asked. Hope you enjoy.

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**Results**

The corridors of Hogwarts were just as desolate as the common rooms. Harry and Ginny saw nobody on their way down to the second floor, not even a ghost or irate caretaker. It didn't matter much, it wasn't like they were breaking any rules or causing any trouble, but neither of them really wanted to be broken from their thoughts.

Harry's mind was swimming. It had been for the past few weeks now; the Chamber had changed his life completely. Since hearing about Ginny's abduction that night, he'd been in a very strange state of mind. It was something that he couldn't really explain. All he knew was that he had a steadfast desire to make sure that she was protected and safe. This caused a number of changes in his attitude and actions that he couldn't fully understand.

His descent into the Chamber of Secrets was something he could understand. Knowing everything he knew, he wouldn't have been Harry Potter if he hadn't gone down there regardless. After all, it had been he who had taken on all of the protections set up to keep the Philosopher's Stone safe and secure, and that was without anyone's life being in immediate danger. When someone is almost certainly going to die, the answer was not going to be different, no matter how scared he was. Throw in the fact that it was Ginny Weasley who was in danger, a girl whom he'd lived with the previous summer, and there was never any doubt that Harry would jump into that pipe.

It was his actions since that night that confused him more. He was doing everything in his power to make Ginny happy again, which was understandable. The things he was doing were completely out of character for him, though. He did what should have come natural, small things like including her into conversations, complimenting her, and talking to her to check she was ok.

These things should have been natural thing to do, but they were things that he'd grown up never knowing. He was bullied by his cousin, and treated like dirt by his aunt and uncle. He didn't know the first thing about caring for someone. Including her in conversations meant getting to know her, something he'd not had to do for the past year since he'd become friends with Hermione. It was something he'd only done twice in his life. Ron was easy, there had been so much that the two found interesting about each other, and it was inevitable that they would be friends after a long train ride. With Hermione, it was both him and Ron who had to get to know her, so Harry could sit and listen to the two of them until he felt comfortable with the new person. Ginny was completely new though, and so very different, especially when Harry expected her to be like last summer at the Burrow. It had thrown him completely when she argued passionately with Ron about Quidditch a few days after the Chamber.

Compliments were another struggle, as he'd never received any himself. Slowly though, he built it into his routine that when he first saw her, he'd mention she looked nice, or notice something that was different about her. Spotting the changes had been slow going at first, but his brain was slowly catching up with the idea, and now it came naturally to see something that she'd done differently in her morning preparations, even down to being able to tell when she'd ran out of her own perfume and had to borrow one of her dorm mates.

Talking to her had been an experience once again. She often batted him away whenever he said something that might have resulted in a serious conversation, and he'd been taken aback when she spoke to him by the lake that day. But he surprised himself by having a natural aversion to saying things that made her smile, or dried up her tears. Sometimes expressing his words was a problem, but again, he presumed that, like compliments, he'd get used to it.

The final difficulty was the hardest one, and the one he was doing now. Holding hands, hugging, wiping away tears. Touch was definitely something Harry wasn't used to, at least, not in a nice way. Hermione had hugged him once or twice, and he once even hugged back, but that wasn't as willing, and it always made him feel uncomfortable. He knew, though, that it was what people did. They hugged someone when they were crying, or held hands to show they were there for them. Not only was Harry struggling with the concept, he was embarrassed to do most of those things, especially in front of people.

But Ginny's face lit up whenever he made any comforting movement. The first time he offered his hand out to her when they had left the Chamber, he noticed a huge grin spread over her face, and she'd taken it with hesitance. He always paid attention to her facial expression whenever he did what he considered 'normal people' do. He found himself watching other people in the common room to see how they interacted with each other, and tried to take on some of their actions, like watching a couple sit together on a couch, arms draped lazily over each other's shoulders, and a soft kiss on the head. He'd turned away when the action escalated further, and knew that was something he wouldn't be doing with Ginny any time soon. But the first kiss he'd planted on her head, no matter how badly he'd done it, had instantly changed her face into a look of pure bliss, and so he kept doing it, no matter how uncomfortable he felt at the gesture.

And now, he was walking hand in hand with her to the hospital wing, after managing to convince her to get herself checked for any signs of being used. He didn't know what could actually be done to check, but he knew some basics about sex education (they'd done one lesson on the subject in Primary school, and he'd been teased mercilessly for not knowing about any parts of a girl's anatomy, despite the young age) to know that there were ways to tell if a girl had had sex. Knowing about the first time being special was pure luck, after overhearing some older girls chatting as they were leaving the toilets, one with a dreamy expression, despite the slight limp in her walk.

The two walked in complete silence, but felt no awkwardness between them at all. He recognised that she needed the time to compose herself before this, and he was happy to give it to her. It gave him a few minutes to think through his own thoughts as well, something which he found he'd needed to do so much more often since getting to know Ginny Weasley.

All too soon, the pair reached the third floor, home to the hospital wing. Ginny stopped abruptly at the end of the corridor, looking at the double doors on their left uncertainly. Harry recognised the conflicted look on her face, and gently slid his hand out of hers to place his arm around her shoulders. In the brief time that the two lost contact, her body tensed, but she relaxed again as he pulled her nearer. He watched as she took a deep breath, before nodding and walking up to and through the doors, Harry next to her, uncomfortably keeping his arm around her.

The hospital was as deserted as the corridors. All traces of the Chamber attacks had long since been cleared away, the only thing left being a small bottle labelled 'Mandrake Draught'. All of the beds were spotlessly clean and thankfully unoccupied, and most of the equipment used for healing had been cleared away so that only the essentials were left in plain sight. Across the other side of the room, a door stood slightly ajar, leading to Madam Pomfrey's office. Harry heard Ginny make a small noise next to him, as though unable to form the words needed to call the nurse. He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze before leaving her to knock on the door politely.

Madam Pomfrey looked up from whatever she was working on, and instantly looked serious. Harry couldn't help but smile at the reaction he got whenever he entered the hospital wing.

"Mr Potter, I hope that I'm not expected to treat another injury you've sustained from one of your reckless adventures," she said sternly, but her face instantly softened as Harry smiled and shook his head.

"No Ma'am, it's not me. Can you come out here with me?"

He stayed in the office just long enough to see Pomfrey put down her quill and start to stand, before walking back over to Ginny and gently placing his arm around her shoulder again. As the nurse entered the ward, her face changed to a look of pity in an instant as her eyes fell upon Ginny's nervous form.

"My dear girl," she whispered quietly, before giving a soft sigh, "I think I know what you are doing in my hospital, child."

Ginny could do nothing but nod, which caused Harry to give her hand a quick squeeze, before turning back to the nurse, looking slightly lost.

"Miss Weasley, I am certainly willing to test you for any sign of… foul play… that might have occurred to you on that awful night, providing you are fully aware of what this means. If the results are positive, there is nothing that can be done, and you have to live with the knowledge forever."

The young girl looked Madam Pomfrey in the eye with determination, but her voice betrayed just how scared she was as she whispered, "Better than not knowing."

Pomfrey nodded, and motioned towards one of the beds. Slowly, Ginny moved and sat on the one furthest from the door, as though the extra few metres would keep the entire school away from the process. Meanwhile, Pomfrey was busying herself moving a screen to shield the bed away from the rest of the wing, all the while explaining, "There are spells which could tell me the answer to your problem, Miss Weasley, but I'm afraid they are sometimes untrustworthy, and many were originally made up by chauvinistic men to check their brides were pure, which means they can be tampered with. I'd much prefer to do everything in a more Muggle fashion, especially in a case like your own."

Ginny looked up at Harry, clearly frightened by the idea that she'd have to have something Muggle done to her. Indeed, it was a completely foreign experience for her. Harry started towards the bed, but was blocked by Pomfrey's stern look.

"Mister Potter will have to wait outside the curtains until I am finished. It won't take me long, Potter, so just sit on one of the other beds. I'll lock the doors so that nobody can enter," she said flicking her wand at the double doors, which squelched horribly. Finally, Pomfrey moved inside the curtains and pulled them around the bed, blocking Harry's view completely. The last thing he saw was Ginny's white face looking at him as though it was her final hour.

As soon as the curtains closed, silence plunged over the room. Harry could only assume that there was a silencing charm placed on the material, as he couldn't hear anything coming from beyond them. He made his way over to the bed opposite and lay down on it, placing his hands behind his head. Letting out a sigh, he let his mind wander once again.

He hoped beyond hope that Ginny would be fine. Knowing how broken she had been about the Chamber already, he felt that this would be a final nail in the coffin if she discovered she'd been raped by the individual responsible for her hellacious year. Ginny might have been a much stronger girl than he'd ever thought, but this was on a different level altogether.

Not only that, but it would all be his fault that she was upset. He'd convinced her to come for this test. Surely, if she found out the truth wasn't what she wanted, she'd blame him. She'd told Madam Pomfrey that it was better than not knowing, but how much better was it really? She was getting happier when she didn't know; she was showing signs of recovering. Was this going to destroy any progress that they'd made? Or would it have haunted her until she found out what the answer was the hard way?

And then there was the pressure that it would put on Harry. In a moment of selfishness, he thought about the strains that he'd already been through to get her on the road to recovery. He had to admit, he was reaching a point where he might soon break. Thinking of all of that effort going to waste, and him having to start again with her was not something he looked forward to. How long would it take until he broke down as well? And how much would she rely on him? Would she tell her parents the truth, or just keep Harry in the know, solely burdening him with the problem.

Harry shook his head to clear it. These thoughts were getting him nowhere. Ginny wasn't a burden to him. He reminded himself that he wanted to help, not that she was forcing him. If she wanted to use him to offload all of her problems onto, then so be it; he had brought it on himself. He wasn't going to complain.

The test seemed to be taking hours, but he knew it was probably only a few minutes. He couldn't imagine what Ginny's feelings must be like right now, seeing as his own were so muddled and confused.

Finally, he heard the sound of a curtain shifting and sat up. He heard the last trails of Madam Pomfrey asking Ginny if she wanted to "be with Mister Potter whilst I tell you the results." Ginny must have nodded without saying anything, because the curtain was pulled back the whole way and she leapt off the bed and over to his. He gathered her into his arms and started to stroke her hair softly, all the while looking up at the nurse expectantly. He was strangely reminded of a muggle talent show on TV he'd happened upon and managed to watch some of the results being read out before being turfed out of the living room by a purple faced Uncle Vernon.

Madam Pomfrey had a completely professional look on her face as she looked at the two of them. Harry tried to read her facial expression to tell the news before she announced it, but it was impossible. She stayed straight faced the entire time, before saying:

"Miss Weasley, I'm delighted to announce that you are in full health and nothing untoward happened to you down in the Chamber of Secrets."

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**A/N: **I hope that this was worth the wait. I'll hopefully write the next chapter within the Christmas period, provided things don't become too hectic, but please accept my apologies in advance if I don't release anything just yet.


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